Geographic and socioeconomic factors affecting delivery of bariatric surgery across high- and low-utilization healthcare systems

BACKGROUND: In countries with universal health coverage, the delivery of care should be driven by need. However, other factors, such as proximity to local facilities or neighbourhood socioeconomic status, may be more important. The objective of this study was to evaluate which geographic and socioeconomic factors affect the delivery of bariatric care in Canada. METHODS: This was a national retrospective cohort study of all adult patients …